Bumblebee Abundance Decreases with More Arable Land
Author Information
Author(s): Milberg Per, Bergman Karl-Olof, Fjellander Gabriella, Tälle Malin, Westerberg Lars
Primary Institution: Linköping University
Hypothesis
How does landscape composition affect bumblebee abundance at different spatial scales?
Conclusion
Bumblebee abundance decreases as the area of arable land in the landscape increases, especially at larger scales.
Supporting Evidence
- The area of arable land had a negative effect on total bumblebee abundance at all scales.
- This negative effect was most pronounced for short-tongued species and species with medium to large colony sizes.
- The area of semi-natural grassland had a significant negative effect on bumblebee abundance up to about 1 km.
- Bumblebees with early-emerging queens were particularly affected by the area of arable land.
Takeaway
If there are more farms around a grassland, there are fewer bumblebees. This is because farms don't provide enough flowers for them.
Methodology
Bumblebees were sampled at 476 semi-natural grassland sites in southern Sweden, and their abundance was analyzed in relation to the area of arable land and other landscape features.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to spatial autocorrelation and the specific selection of grassland sites.
Limitations
The study was limited to grassland sites and may not represent bumblebee responses in other habitat types.
Participant Demographics
Bumblebee species from various habitats were included, with a total of 3679 individuals representing 26 species.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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